Natalie Bassingthwaighte “1000 Stars” New Single + Video Review

The 1000 Stars Single Cover

After a number 1 debut for her debut solo effort “1000 Stars”, a platinum single “Alive”, and a gold single “Someday Soon”, Natalie is now releasing her third single from the album, the title track “1000 Stars”.

This inspirational song, is set to top the charts, with a killer music video as well as a physical and digital release on May 2nd. Signed copies of the single “1000 Stars” are available for pre-order on JB Hifi currently, I highly reccomend this to anybody who enjoys the song, it will come with remixes, an acoustic version, and a new b-side from Natalie.

CLICK HERE TO PREORDER “1000 Stars”

Enough of the technical crap! The music video is fantastic, it definetly stands out compared to her previous two videos which both had her with a Macy Gray Style wig, and fake tan to boot! Problem was it did not suit her one bit.  However in this video we see a more natural Natalie, showcasing her beauty, on a beach.

1000 Stars The Album

Whilst this may sound benign, there are three different looks, in the first Natalie writhes in the sunlight on the beach in a way reminiscent of Kylie Minogue’s “Slow” video, this is Natalie, without makeup or hairstyling, and she looks incredible. Then we diverge to her second look which is on the album art for the single, it’s almost like they are trying to make her look extremely old and almost bald, it’s very elegant, but at times it is too… antique.

Finally we see the dressed up Natalie in hot pants, she once again looks great, only problem is the timing of the vocals in the chorus at the end seems a little bit off.

Overall the video deserves a rating of 3 and a half stars, it needs either much brighter blue colours to match her album cover, or it needs a storyline. Either way a music video doesn’t need a storyline but if that is overlooked then it is very important to make the video spectacular and captivating in terms of the colour and the editing, they just didn’t perfect the colour.

Take a listen to 1000 Stars being performed Live in Melbourne at the Crown Casino. And below this you can watch the video!

1000 Stars Performed Live

Lady Gaga’s… “Unique” Performance on Friday Night Live With Jonothan Ross

Gaga's new single "Love Game"

If you are a regular on the Just Add Water Modern Music Blog, then you will certainly know that I have had mostly enourmous praise for her. In the review of her album “The Fame”, I pointed out that the songs “Again Again” and “Brown Eyes” were like commercial breaks, where she’s certainly lost the plot and blindly sung her way into a tangent of irrelavence.

There have been a few occasions where Lady Gaga has misunderstood the whole idea of being a
mystical” and “multidimensional” artist, she has deviated in her performances especially this one, which was preceded by an equally awkward interview on Friday Night Live with Jonothan Ross (A popular “Late” show in Britain)

Her performance was ridiculous and went from being sort of innovative too unbelieveably scary, and not in a theatrical way. She performed “Poker Face”, or should I say “Slaughtered” it, she sounded out of breath and like an overexcited nasal Japanese Businessman who had drunk way too much rice wine.

There was a distinct lack of actual singing in the performance, it was mostly talking, and by no means am I commenting on her ability to sing, which she definetly has.  She tried to make it some kind of Metal interpretation of Poker Face, there was no rhythm to the performance, she seriously butchered it, it was like she was having some kind of epileptic fit. Nobody wants to see this, and what Lady Gaga might not understand is, this is a huge mistake, she always appears borderline wasted, especially the way she does her eye makeup, which would be ok if her eyes didn’t appear to be rolling into the back of her head while she screeches (yes… screeches) whilst innocently misplacing the lyrics as if they were an annoying child in a supermarket that you had almost given up on.

Gwen Stefani Sweet Escape Anybody?

This performance was uncomforting for a fan to watch, as well as for regular viewers, only the most diehard fan could come up with some excuse for this seemingly drug induced trip she did on stage, like “It’s her way of expressing…. (insert lame reason here).

She has definetly tipped over the limit of being able to justify her prententious nature, especially when claiming she gets her inspiration from nobody? Who can seriously say that, how egotistical, I’m sure any person with any idea of any facet of pop culture in the last 40 years would be able to conjure up some undeniable similarities in her look and sound, on of the biggest would be Gwen Stefani.

Lady Gaga is a spectacular performer, and she needs to understand that she is no longer in a dingey nightclub in New York, the majority of her audience has shifted from people either inebriated, on drugs (or a combination of the two) to a diverse range of age groups from 8 onwards.

What she needs to accept is that she can no longer put on a drag show when she feels like it, she needs to step up her game and express herself without becoming deluded as to the reaction from the general public.

Perhaps she has just become engulfed by a whirlwind fame (and who could blame her!) but either way she has talent, and she should stop trying to be the “Lady” (no pun intended) who always tries to give a surprise to her audience, because more often than not they turn out to be unpleasant ones. She should instead grasp the oppourtunity which the stage and the microphone offer her to not treat the audience like they don’t exist, but to give a coherent performance. She is at the crossroads in her blossoming career where she can either take the route of a talented and succesful artist, or to simply fall into the abyss of self-obsession.

Checkout the video here, judge for yourself and leave a comment!

NO DOUBT – NEW SINGLE “Stand and Deliver”

 

They're Back!

No Doubt are finally back!  Just before their tour rockets around the United States, they have released a cover single for “Fans” who purchased the tickets, unsurprisingly it spread all over the internet like Bai Lings Legs.

 

The song is… quirky,and that makes it true to the original (thank god she didn’t try a British accent!) they did a great job, and Gwen’s Vocals are fantastic. Keep in mind this is just a cover song of Adam and the Ants 1981 single “Stand and Deliver”, it wont be on their new album, in which case the song is not the be all and end all but it’s a very nice song!

The best part is, it completely draws you back to their yesteryears of raw ska and new wave music, like their independent album “Beacon Street Collection” .  I think it helps bridge the gap between Gwen’s iconic solo career and her roots with No Doubt. It’s a way of saying, we’re the same as always, and we haven’t changed.

All I can say is that their cover captures a more feel-good essence than the original, and I give it Three stars, and wait with baited breath for some original material from this talented band.

Check out No Doubt, May 1st Live on the Today Show (America) and also (If you watch it) They will be performing a cameo in Gossip Girl with “Stand and Deliver” on the episode airing 11th May.

To listen to the song simply google the song name and you’ll find a link from somewhere, it’s everywhere at the moment so you won’t have much trouble, unfortunately Youtube is trying to turn all Big Brother on us so they are deleting videos, restricting people not from the United States from watching a lot of videos. Don’t bother with Youtube. They are just hindering the publicity that artists deserve.

Black Eyed Peas – Boom Boom Pow – Single Review

The Black Eyed Peas, Dressed in Black.

So due to overwhelming demand from not just fans, but radio stations in Australia, America, and let alone the general public, the released was significantly pushed forward to 30th of March. GOOD MOVE. This is easily one of the main reasons that the song has shot straight to the top slot of the iTunes charts in America, and the top 5 in Australia. The song is currently sitting on three times the sales of the next biggest selling single “Poker Face”, which is definetly a sign of phenomenal sales, given Lady Gaga’s popularity of late.

To the song, I’m no huge fan of Fergie these days, I was definetly into her solo stuff and work with the Black Eyed Peas, except when I noticed how much she was completely ripping off Gwen Stefani she lost a little bit of credibility. Not to mention the simply ear-bleedingly good ‘Labels or Love’, living proof that 80% of women(and some men) will consume anything affiliated with Sex In The City, no matter how vapid and dull.

The song incorporates simply incredible beats, fantastic, and that is what the songs about, without a doubt. There are a few similarities to Kayne West (Not in a good way) and Lady Gaga, first of all, the use of autotune makes Fergie sound like a tween chipmunk, and it doesn’t sound very original when Will I Am sings “Stronger better Faster” under the influence of autotune, it’s a ripoff of a song that is a ripoff (Kanye West’s “Stronger” which stole the entire song off Daft Punk), it’s like ‘meta-plagarism’.

But after a while you look past the abhorrently shrill and misplaced vocals, and you begin to see that behind all the stupid and predictable “rap battle-isms” like “We So 3008 you so 2000 and late” (Snap Fergie) is what the Pea’s really stand for, Hot beats, a vocal diversity that is unmistakable even with autotune, and an energy in the delivery of their songs. Which leaves little to be argued about their fifth album, which I love because it is “The E.N.D” which just works up their hardcore fans into thinking they are breaking up, when it really means Energy Never Dies.

Now I will refer to exhibit A, this encapsulates the core problem I have with the lyrics in the song.

“Beats so big I’m steppin on Leprechauns, shittin all ya’ll with the boom boom”

Will.I.Am is effectively stating, that he is squashing leprechauns while defacating on the listeners, what makes it worse is that it’s not even said in jest, he just…declares it. What happened to the lyrical style of “Where is the Love”?

So let’s just ignore the fact that the lyrics make Soulja Boy sound like a 47 year old Arts Graduate, and accept that the song is great, it’s not as invigorating as “Don’t Phunk With My Heart”, but they are being smart by choosing to take the direction of captivating and strong beats, fast pace nonsensical bullshit is the new thing, and there is nothing wrong with listening to this song, so long as you don’t draw some emotional meaning from it. (Unless you have something against leprechauns)

My Final rating is possibly misleading, so let me explain it

Beats: 5 Star

Tempo: 5 Star

Lyrics: 0 Stars

Vocals: 1 Star (The autotune on one hand is horrible, but on the other isn’t altogether unbearable)

Final Rating: 3 Stars – this song is good, but the Black Eyed Peas could’ve done the same song with decent lyrics, the lyrics in it aren’t really interesting, they don’t add anything to the song as a whole. Still I just love that the Black Eyed Peas are back.

Christina Milian – “Us Against The World” Single Review

Christina Milian

Christina Milian, in her own words, is “Well overdue for a comeback”, and personally after stumbling across her new single from the upcoming album “Elope”, I believe she is deserving of a comeback, her music is very interesting, and she’s a realistic contender against the big name artists like Beyonce who dove head first into the adult pop market seamlessly transitioning to their adulthood. However Christina Milian was unable to do this as well, and after her first album she remained unnoticed.

Yet, the new single “Us Against The World”, it hits all the right notes, it’s like Beyonce’s Halo but more spiritual and yearning, it has more of a natural feel to it.  The striking beats along with the harpstrings compliment her feminine yet mature vocals, this is music that exudes strength and resilience. This song is not radio friendly,which is why it was a poor choice as an opening single and subsequently wont chart impressively unless there is an incredible promotional campaign to get her music out there again.

This song recieves 4 stars, it’s inspirational, relaxed, but introspective, and it’s definetly a piece of art. The accompanying music video is fantastic, she herself had the outfits designed to ring true to the metaphors of the lyrics and to represent visual metaphors. The Music Video is below if you wish to watch it, I highly reccomend you do, even if it to just hear the song itself. Don’t expect some major hook, just listen from start to finish and at the end you will understand the song. It works together as a song, not a chorus and a verse.

This single is from her upcoming album “Elope” which was chosen due to the literal meaning of the word, to run off with the one you love, which is an overall theme of the album, especially in “Us Against The World”. Keep an eye out of the album, definetly give it a chance!

“New” Single – Ciara “Love Sex Magic”

 

Ciara's New Single "Love Sex Magic"

Ciara has released the second single from her third album ( A Triple Disc Album called “Fantasy Ride”, which with constant delays is beginning to live up to it’s title)

The single, is “Love Sex Magic” and it features Justin Timberlake. BOY do her vocals sound sexy in this song. it perfectly suits the song, she doesn’t fall victim to the same breathy whispy crap that Janet Jacksons been doing in her latest albums, she commands attention in the song.

This song is well produced, simple, but hook friendly, and they both do a great job, and it’s great to see that there are some promising singles from this album, because judging from “Go Girl” and “Never Ever” it was going to be a bland and forgettable album, with little or no direction.

“Love Sex Magic” has great potential and due to extreme radio airplay in Australia as well as the United States, this song is destined to go into the top ten without a doubt, and will launch “Fantasy Ride” and Ciara back into the spotlight worldwide.

This song recieves three stars, I have very little to criticize about the song, it’s well done and doesn’t try to be some incredibly fast and energetic song, just a conglomerate of hooks and sexual vocals.  The song makes very little sense, but it’s catchy and I’m glad Ciara got it right for once!

Music Video Review – Britney “If U Seek Amy”

Britney

So finally it’s here! Three months after her last music video for “Circus”, Britney Spears has released the video for “If U Seek Amy”, and I’ll give you a heads up, it’s nothing like “Womanizer”, and it’s nothing like “Gimme More” because the days where people have constantly chanted “Britney’s Back” succesively are over, there are no awkward moments in the video,  no blank empty looks on her face, this is who she is, and the reason it comes off so well is because the video relates around the concept of how the media can redefine and manipulate who you are, but they can never change who you are behind closed doors.

The dancing in this video is pretty decent, in fact the best since Toxic, but to be honest it’s one of those video’s where it focusses more on perspectives and emotions, than choreography. I commend them on that, because her dancing isn’t as good as it used to be, and it’s better to sway away from that for the time being and to play to her strengths.

The video fixates on the new Britney, the mature adult Britney, the one that has brought her public image more down to earth in many peoples minds. Before she was this teenager who could dance and sing, she was talented and sweet. But now her persona is full of dimension, she’s hit rock bottom, she’s become a mother, she’s reached the extremes of fame and infamy, something not many other’s can claim to such a magnitude. She is the archetypical celebrity, she has been the one who has been at the complete mercy of the press, obsessed with bringing somebody down until there is nothing to do but to talk them back up to the top again, it’s sadistic, and that’s why Britney’s vocals in the song express “All of the boys and all of the girls are begging to if you seek amy”, everybody is out to fuck her over.

Britney and the exterior

In the beggining she is surrounded by faceless people shrouded in the darkness of impropriety, and suddenly we see her face, in clear focus and bright lights, she lifts her head up and sings right into the camera it really is raw. She walks seductively (something she seems to be doing more than dancing in her tour, but at least she does it well…. right?) to the window, as she contemplates what she already knows, the reality she faces on a daily basis, that outside everyone is seeking this identity “Amy” her public identity, which as the video progresses we learn is nothing like who she really is.

There are people watching her in the video in every scene, until she is shown in pools of white light as she dresses herself up into “Amy” the ideal conservative, woman. As she slowly makes her way ouside holding a pie, we see jump cuts between Amy and Britney, showing the bitterness within what lies beneath, and the eerie confidence of this picture perfect housewife on the outside. We see the house is used as a metaphor to capture the essence of how we all want to seem, and how horrendously different we usually are.

Amy and the media

At the beginning and end of the video we see short fox “news” (And I think we all understand why I used inverted commas there…) clips, the first, a bitter yet “virginal” news reporter who in a real “news” broadcast mocks the songs title saying slowly “If…. You…. Seek…. Amy” and then she dons a bitchy little smile. However at the end of the video she says stupidly “It doesn’t make sense, does it!”. This is executed by the editor so well, because it mocks her for not understanding the hidden meaning of the song.

Great work from Britney and her crew, they have exceeded expectations, and once again proved that whilst the new mature Britney is different from the old one, she is better in more ways than one.

This video recieves  4 stars, it would recieve more if the editing was a little better, there are a few moments that could have been improved. But overall what drives the video is the idea of the underlying message, from the interior of ourselves to the polished and surreal outside, that strives to stifle realism.

Upcoming Album – Keri Hilson “In A Perfect World”

Keri Hilson's Debut Album

Keri Hilson, RnB songstress, is completely underrated, and has the talent and the style to make it big finally, after teasing us with glimpses of herself in “The Way I Are” by Timbaland. After listneing to a set of new tracks from Keri Hilson, I’m convinced her debut album, which is long overdue, “In a Perfect World”, with smashing tracks like “Alienated”, “Return The Favour”, and “Energy”, will eventually find success with the right dosage of promotion and live performances.

Keri Hilson does not have enough current exposure as a solo artist to be recognised the way she needs to be, her music is definetly hit quality, addictive, and intense. I believe that she should possibly do a lot more promotion in Australia and the United Kingdom, she needs to go onto chat shows around America and perform, to showcase her talents properly. The release of the album has been poorly planned because it has been pushed back over two years, and most of the songs have changed due to the changing market and inspirations in Keri Hilsons writing.

Watch out for “In A Perfect World” which will be released on the 24th of March. Below you can checkout two of the songs from the album, the first being Energy a slick production with the perfect combination of heartwrenching vocals and deep fast beats.

Secondly We Have “Alienated” a similar combination of striking beats and emotional vocals, but this time with dreamy synth beats.

So, what do you think of Keri Hilson, are you a fan already? Do you enjoy these songs? Do you think she will find success in the musical industry in America, or should she go overseas?  Leave a comment below and tell me your opinion!

Natalie Bassingthwaighte – Someday Soon Goes “Gold”

 

Natalie Bassingthwaighte

Barely a week after her album debuted at number 1, Natalie Bassingthwaighte’s second single “Someday Soon” (Of which the majority of readers have voted to be a fantastic single) has been certified Gold for selling over 35,000 copies, which is a very, very impressive result and it shows the staying power and resilience of her music, that it does not arrive one week and depart off the charts the next.

 

Alive (The First Single) has also been certified Gold a month ago, and is definitely on it’s way to achieving platinum status. It is rare for most singles to achieve sales of the threshold that receives a Gold certification, and this shows that as about 7 of her singles have been certified gold or platinum, which is only an example of her popularity with adult markets as well as young people. I say this because young people often download one song off iTunes the week it comes out, and after that do no purchase anything else, whereas adults are more inclined to purchase a physical single, and usually it is not during the week of release , which results in a single having a decent life in the charts but without a high peak position.

Lady Gaga – Love Game – Update

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga’s Third Single will be Love Game, as previously mentioned, a song which has already taken off all over the world, and expect it to spread just  as quickly and with the same ubiquitous charm that Poker Face had. Poker Face is faring quite well in the United World Chart  having risen from last weeks position of number 3 to 2nd place, and do not be surprised if it reaches the number one spot next week , as it is only 9000 points away from the top song at the moment (Right Round “Flo Rida” featuring Kesha not Katy Perry) this week it garnered 318,000 points! This best part is that Poker Face was released and had peaked in most countries apart from the United States over 4 months ago , meaning this huge chart position is based on the United States only, which is a great effort!

Also be on the lookout for a deluxe edition of “The Fame” as I am almost certain that one will be released depending on the success of Love Game, this should include either leftover tracks (B-sides) or new tracks, as she is always in the studio and the company will be eager to release more music before the next album, which will be at least another year or two depending on the longevity of “The Fame”.